A Good Morning
by A Burning City
Summary: HMC-Now a series of one-shots featuring the Jenkins family. Fluffy.
1. A Good Morning

Disclaimer: All characters and settings are the work of Diana Wynne Jones and I'm making no profit. I'm just a student who's hopelessly in love with her characters.

Author's Note: Hello everyone! This is my first fan fiction about, well, anything. It's now 1 AM, and the night before my finals, but I love Howl and Sophie so much that I couldn't resist, and the DWJ section hasn't had many new updates lately so I just thought why not? This takes place the day after HMC ends, and I'm going by the book characters, not the movies (although they probably seem OOC because I love fluff, which we hardly see any of in HMC). Obviously, unbeta-ed, so if anyone wants to offer, it's much appreciated. This may be more than one chapter, but as of now I'm unsure. Reviews are appreciated as well, so long as they're actually constructive and not rude for no reason. To the story!

Chapter 1:

**A Good Morning**

"Sophie," a deep voice whispered fiercely from the other side of the curtain. Sophie Hatter rolled over on her tiny bed feeling exhausted, but she had good reason to. The events of the previous day caught up with her hazy memory as she struggled to prop herself up on her elbows. The lack of creaking joints reminded her that the Witch of the Waste's curse was broken, she was young again, and she lived in a man's, and not just any man's, home, unmarried. After everyone had left late last night, with protests from all members of Sophie's family that she go with them, she finally collapsed into bed without a word. Her dreams always led her back to that cowardly man, however, with his blond hair and bright green eyes that always seemed to know what she was up to. Now he was peeking his head into her cubby hole with an easy and perfectly confident smile.

Sophie tried to glare at him, but failed miserably as a shy smile made its way onto her face. "I was sleeping," she stated as seriously as she could manage.

"Oh, believe me, I know. I heard you snoring from upstairs," Howl joked, making her ears go slightly pink. "But I wanted to talk. Can I come in?" he asked, the perfect gentleman. Sophie raised her eyebrows at the suggestion, but decided it was an innocent enough request, so she scooted over a little to make room. His lithe form slithered under the covers, surprising her, and turned to face her.

All of a sudden, he took both of her hands in his like the previous day and said "Sophie, I'm so sorry, but this isn't working." Her heart beat sped up. Was he kicking her out? Did he not mean it when he said happily ever after? But then her common sense told her that he wouldn't be grinning like a child right then if that were the case, so she squeaked out an, "Oh?" in a small voice, looking down and feeling rather embarrassed that he was so close to her.

"I thought the little mouse was gone and Ms. Nose took her place, but I guess I was wrong," he laughed, but it sounded a tad nervous to her. She felt indignation rise up inside her and she tried to jerk her hands out of Howl's, but he had too tight a grip.

"If that's all you came in here to say, you're more than welcome to leave." He looked at her strangely in a way she hadn't seen before. It was almost calculating, as if he were guessing what she was would do next. His eyes were clear and infinite, the furthest reaches of the Porthaven sea in the evening.

"No, I wanted to tell you-needed to tell you," he amended, "that I don't want you down here anymore. I've been waiting for quite some time for your curse to be broken so that I could see you as you really are, and I can't stand being away from you now," he confessed quickly.

_How honest he's being_, Sophie thought, relief washing over her as she realized he still loved her- _No, Sophie, no one said anything about love. _Then she realized she did love him, all his faults intact (except his womanizing), and allowed it to fill her up now that she was properly young. Maybe he loved her, too, she mused happily.

"Did you hear me?" Howl asked sharply, waving his hand in front of her face. She snapped out of her daydreaming and said, "Sorry, what did you say?"

He looked crestfallen and said, "I know it sounds like a weird arrangement, but we could give it a chance. It's just been a long time since I had a heart or felt anything so strongly for someone else."

Sophie's mind raced to catch up. "I meant I didn't hear what you said before," she smiled.

His face turned very red then, which, Sophie had to admit, made him look very adorable. She had an urge to push his hair off his face, say that red didn't really suit him, but she repressed it.

"I said," he began again, but looked at a spot just above her eyes, "if it would be alright with you…I could move your things upstairs…to sleep in my room?" The awkward smile he wore seemed to suit him very well. Sophie mulled it over.

"If I did, what would that entail?" she inquired sensibly.

Howl's grin turned mischievous and he whispered cheekily into her ear, "Anything you like, dear Sophie." Her face burned as bright as his had a few seconds ago, and he took advantage of the silence. "But, I'll have you know, I can take no responsibility in the matter if Fanny finds out what you're forcing me to do with you once we share a bed-"

Sophie succeeded in yanking her hands free of his and said coldly, "You can lie in that bed with all your spiders for the rest of your life for all I care." Howl was too quick, though, because before her Howl had produced a small black box from his shirt pocket and was opening it with deliberate slowness. Sophie sucked her breath in, all thoughts of the fight dissipating.

"I'd much rather have you there, though, even if you only have two legs." Howl took the ring from its case and held it between his thumb and index finger. It was a thin, delicate golden band with a smallish, clear diamond resting in the middle of smaller inlaid sapphires. His gaze was intensely focused on her when he said in a low voice, "Sophie, I love you with all of my fragile heart, and I know that I'm vain and a coward, but-"

"Don't forget slitherer-outer." Howl laughed lightly.

"Yes, that too. But I can be brave for you if you need it, and I can spend less time taking baths, and this is the one thing that I will allow myself to be pinned down to, because loving you is so easy that it's not even a decision." Sophie continued to look from the ring to Howl, back and forth. He did love her, very much. Very, very much. Then she thought of Howl facing the Witch in all of his unkempt glory, and how he was offering himself to her now and forever.

She laughed.

Howl's face fell for a fraction of a second, but he kept up his disguise as always, as if that one single action hadn't just tugged painfully hard at his heart. He began returning it to his shirt pocket.

"Wait," Sophie said, grabbing his hand. His expression of masked anguish made her grab him around the neck, pulling him into an embrace that really wouldn't look all that appropriate to an outsider. "Howl, I wasn't laughing at you. I was laughing because I realized how much I love you, too. And I don't need all of your reassurances, either, because the words are pointless. I can see how you feel about me in what you do for me. I know you can be all of those things, I just need you to keep showing me." With that, she extricated herself from his arms and sat up as straight as possible, brushing her red-gold hair from her face. "So yes, _of course_," she added softly, almost as an extremely important afterthought.

If Sophie thought the hug was improper, what Howl did next was downright scandalous. He slid the ring onto her shaking finger and tackled her under the sheets, pulling both of them under. He held her face firmly but gently between his hands and kissed her gingerly until she relaxed into it. Vaguely she thought about how this was her first kiss, but her mind focused on Howl's tongue, which had made its way into her mouth then and was sending shivers down her spine. Finally Howl released her and they both sat up in a sort of daze.

"I think it's time to start the day, soon-to-be Mrs. Jenkins," Howl said pushing himself out of her bed and helping her out as well. She nodded, and they stepped out of the cubby hole together, hand-in-hand, smiling like idiots.

Calcifer was in the grate, grinning wickedly at the pair, while Michael, who was just then jumping off the last stair, saw Howl and Sophie emerging as a pair from Sophie's room. He seemed to be much too engrossed in the buttons on his shirt than usual to pull off aloofness.

"Good morning Howl, Sophie," he said politely, still not looking at either of them. Howl beamed.

"Yes Michael, it is a good morning, isn't it?"


	2. Song and Dance

A/N: Hi again everyone! I find myself wanting to write about little instances of Howl and Sophie's life at random, so instead of posting a bunch of different stories, I'm just going to try to post all my one-shots under this story...which I'm having a hard time figuring out (As I said-I'm new to this). This takes place between Castle in the Air and House of Many Ways, and yes, I realize maybe Morgan would be past two months by then, but I can't be sure. Anyway, that story I said I would start is going to be posted very soon (I hope) under a different title, so check that out. Oh, by the way, if you guys find errors, _tell me_, because I _hate_ errors.

Disclaimer: Diana Wynne Jones still owns everything.

**Song and Dance**

Howl was wide awake, staring out of his bedroom window at the sliver of moon hanging over Wales, pouring silver light over himself and everything else in his room, including Sophie and the crib that had taken up residence right next to her. It still amazed him how he could see a different moon if he just took a step outside.

He turned on his heel slowly and kicked off his shoes. Despite being overworked by the king that evening, he smiled. Sophie was finally taking a well-deserved rest, as was Morgan. _No_, Howl thought as he caught sight of his child through one mesh wall, Morgan was in fact stretching, kicking his blanket off his chubby, stout legs. Howl's eyes flashed to Sophie in an instant, curled up and breathing heavily under the covers, expecting a high pitched wail to escape his son's lips that would force her to lose sleep once again.

Suddenly Morgan's little nose was wrinkling, his face contorting into that tell-tale expression that preceded a tantrum. Normally, Howl would have felt that strange feeling of similitude at the wrinkle that formed between Morgan's eyes, so like his own, but this was no time for sentimentality. Exhaustion didn't matter to him; in a second he was pulling Morgan from his crib and cradled the two-month-old to his chest. Taking one last glance over his shoulder, Howl slipped out the door and made his way downstairs.

"You're actually trying," Calcifer sizzled from the hearth. Howl glared, holding Morgan with one hand while he ran his fingers through his blonde hair. He looked down at his son, who seemed to like being transported places, and rocked him softly, rubbing his onesie-covered back with gentle force until his ears were met with unhappy gurgling.

"Calcifer, heat this up," Howl commanded of the fire demon, placing a glass milk bottle on the hearth. Calcifer looked irritated, but did as he was told. Within seconds, Calcifer deemed it to be at perfectly-baby-soothing temperature. Howl poured the contents into a plastic bottle and balanced Morgan on his broad chest, bending backwards like a table so that he wouldn't fall. Sophie would have had a fit if she saw Howl being so careless, but somehow he just knew that Morgan would cooperate.

"I'm going out to the waste," Howl mumbled, as he shifted Morgan into the crook of his arm and descended the stairs down to the castle door. He opened the door slowly and stepped onto the damp grass barefoot, closing it with a muted click; he was becoming an expert in doing things with one hand. "Okay, Morgan, what's gotten into you? Have I rubbed off on you with my tantrums?" Howl asked faintly. "If your mother finds out, she'll be very angry with me, and we wouldn't want that."

The waste looked brilliant that night, the dewy flowers glinting here and there, the mountains in the distance covered in a thick, rolling fog that was always present. Howl felt refreshed in the cool night air, Morgan being the perfect heater. It was nights like this that made Howl remember his late high school and college years with Neil and Mari so vividly and how sometimes he would watch over his sister's children. Of course it was different then; he hadn't wanted children of his own. Still, he loved his niece and nephew, however nasty Neil was being.

Morgan drank his bottle in earnest as Howl cooed at him, "You'll never turn out like Neil, right? Maybe you'll be an expert in wooing women." Howl chuckled to himself. "It would really do you well to be practical like Sophie, but don't let her know I said that." As if in response, Morgan finished off what he wanted of the bottle and giggled that belly laugh that only babies could get right. "All done?" Howl mumbled a spell and the bottle vanished.

It had been so long since Howl had stopped to admire anything. The stars seemed to be shimmering, dancing around each other in such antiquated movement that Howl found himself quite enraptured by their show. "Did you know, Morgan, that in my world, and I guess your world too, if you like later on, that the stars look very similar to the ones here, but aren't actual fire demons?" Morgan huffed. "Strange, I know." He huffed again. Briefly, Howl realized that Morgan needed to be burped, so he placed his little head over his shoulder and patted his back. The stars were still moving, but not with the same vigor. It was as if they were watching the dance below, the cycle of parent and child halted for one instant where this child was not just destined to grow into a parent of his own, but was a simple baby in his father's arms.

Morgan burped. "Good, good," Howl murmured, brushing his lips over Morgan's forehead and stroking the dark fuzz that had sprouted from the crown of his head. Howl thought he heard a small snapping noise from behind him. He turned back to the castle, but nothing was there. Still bouncing Morgan so that he had to sort of sway-rock to the door, Howl swiveled around to check if anything was there then. Nothing. He sighed. "Let's get to bed," Howl said quietly.

Calcifer didn't say a word; he was deep below his logs, sleeping. Howl did his best to make sure Morgan didn't wake up and start screaming as he ascended the stairs, practically gliding to the crib and placing Morgan among the pillows, taking special care that he covered him up to his chin with the soft, pastel blue blanket. _And to think_, Howl mused, _how you could ever like being a kitten so much when you can get people to do all these things for you when you're a baby?_ Now wasn't the time to ponder such things, though. He slipped off his jacket, shirt, and pants, and slouched over to his side of the bed, where Sophie's arm was draped possessively. He picked it up and slid under it so that her hand was curled around his bare waist. He smiled. He'd get a good swat to the head for that in the morning. For now, he snuggled in closer to her, smoothed her reddish hair off her face, and kissed her forehead, much as he had Morgan's.

"_Noson dda, annwyl_," Howl whispered, almost as if he were breathing, for fear of waking her.

The moon was gone and the sun had taken its place with a vengeance. The sun was decidedly not Howl's friend, always making him get out of bed in the morning when all he wanted-needed-was sleep. He cracked an eyelid, Sophie and Morgan were both gone. He realized this just as he heard Sophie's no-nonsense tone say, "Oh, yes you will!" Then, a moment later, Sophie all but whimpered, "Please, Morgan, I'm so tired, and your father is, too. You know how tired he was when he fed you last night. Just eat your food." Howls eyes snapped open. Sophie had actually sympathized with him. What was more, she knew about his and Morgan's stroll through the waste? Instead of feeling happy that Sophie wasn't defaming him for once, he realized that his efforts to keep Sophie asleep had been in vain! Without trying for even a semblance of togetherness, Howl grabbed his robe and slippers and ran down the stairs.

Sophie was crouched at eye level with Morgan in his high chair, her back to the stairs, but she didn't tear her eyes from him as he was now calmly accepting spoonfuls of yellow mush. Howl came up behind her silently and put his head on her shoulder, making her gasp lightly.

"Hello," she said tightly, her brow furrowed in concentration. Howl was bemused.

"Sophie," he started, taking the spoon from her tight grip to feed Morgan himself as his other hand rested on her hip, "Why were you awake last night when it was my clear intention to give you a break?" He felt her stiffen beneath his hold on her and he kissed her cheek.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Howl laughed.

"Dear, you are an astoundingly awful liar," he said. "You can't seem to keep your nose out of anything! I think I can deduce what that noise was I heard last night." Her cheeks flushed and her lower lip began to wobble as she slid out of his grasp. Quickly, she picked up her trusty broom and began sweeping a dustless area of the floor while Howl cleaned Morgan's face with a clean rag and put him in his living room crib.

Howl sauntered up to Sophie and dissolved her broom away with a flick of his fingers.

"Stop taking things away from me!" she screeched as she made to lunge for Howl, but he was always too agile, and used her momentum to grab her middle and sweep her in a wide arc, settling her into his chest while he pecked her on the lips.

"When you tell me why you were awake," his eyes gleamed mischievously, her lip still wobbling. He touched a finger to the corner of her eye, where a tear was threatening to fall.

"I'll get out my weed killer," she warned him. Howl loved when she tried to hide her sadness with threats, as if she were so strong that she never cried.

"That's fine, so long as you answer the question."

She sighed angrily, mumbling incoherently. "What was that?" Howl asked. Sophie glared.

"Morgan always fusses when I try handling him, but he just goes right to sleep when you hold him," she explained quickly, her voice sounding constricted. "Then you came home, and I was so tired, so I thought I'd let you handle it, and I'd listen to what you were doing, but then you went outside, so I had no choice but to follow you and see!" Her tears were falling with purpose now, sliding down her jawbone and over her neck as Howl tried his best to wipe them all away. She continued thickly, "Then I saw you just having a nice chat with him, and I just-" she choked off, pressing her face into his robe. Howl stroked her hair and pressed his cheek to the top of her head.

Jerking herself upright, Sophie slapped his arm. "That's for putting my arm in unwanted places!" Howl smirked. More civilized, she asked, returning her head to its previous position, "What did you say in Welsh last night?"

"Leave it to you to remember that," he said playfully. Another fierce glare later, he whispered into her hair, "Good night, dear." Sophie nodded curtly and rose up on her tip toes to kiss him again.

"That's for being sweet," she said, drying her tears with the corner of her dress.

"Sophie, you'll learn how to take care of him eventually," Howl said, trying to make her relax. She looked bewildered.

"I know that! That's not why I'm crying," she said, grabbing Morgan from his crib and rocking him in a fashion that looked very similar to the way Howl had done it the night before. "I'm not worried about you," Sophie reassured Morgan, who appeared to be dozing again.

"Then what is it?" Howl asked bluntly, taking a seat at the table and grabbing a piece of bacon from a heaping plate. Sophie's face turned red yet again as she transferred Morgan into Howl's arms carefully. Howl thought Sophie was going to start crying again from the softness in her eyes.

"It's you," Sophie said in a strained voice. "You two are just-" she cut off abruptly, swallowing. Howl raised his eyebrows in what he hoped was a concerned manner. Suddenly she whirled on him and said, "Do _not_ let this inflate your already oversized ego, Howl!" He nodded solemnly, crossing one long leg over the other.

She sat beside him and said, "You're the best things to happen to me...and seeing you both together like that…" She hastily wiped at her eyes as Howl attempted to comfort her by wrapping an arm around her, smiling cordially and wickedly at the same time, eyes flashing in that way that preceded an impromptu display of affection.

Sophie realized it easily and said, "Don't take me seriously! I'm still a bit hormonal!" He just laughed and kissed her anyway.

"What flattery. But next time I come home late and take care of Morgan, you better get some sleep."

"Fine," she grumbled, "Stop making me cry." Morgan chose that moment to burst into tears on Howl's shoulder, his fingers clenching around hanks of Howl's hair.

He swung his legs over the bench and set to the task of rocking him once again, making Sophie hurry to the bathroom with tears in her eyes.

"That was weird," Calcifer said, just then flying into his spot in the grate from the chimney, but Howl was swaying across the room, humming the saucepan song and rubbing Morgan's back.


	3. Answers

Disclaimer: I still own nothing.

A/N: I feel bad for not writing much when it's summer right now and I've had all this time. So I just wrote this up because I had an urge and I wanted some angst in there. Any who, this is after HMC, which I hope is fairly obvious. Lastly, thanks to my reviewers and people who have followed/favorited!

**Answers**

Howl was ignoring her. Again.

Sophie didn't know what to make of the situation, just that it certainly was not what she had pictured when he had promised her happiness (forever, too). It didn't even matter when she tried to strike up a conversation, because he slithered out every time.

'I've just got to see about those custom-made shoes first, Sophie dear,' he would say. Her new favorite was, 'I'm hard at work to keep this household together. We'll talk later,' which was funny because he was the least diligent person she knew and she could barely call the castle a household. The mundaneness of the word just couldn't possibly describe the chaos within.

Michael and Calcifer were out, and Sophie wasn't really even concerned. The only person she wanted to speak with was across the room.

She glared at Howl out of the corner of her eye, the light from the window shining off his spell-enhanced hair. He was crafting a new spell at the work bench, unsuspectingly reaching for a coil of thick wire as Sophie stalked across the floor from the bathroom and descended upon him. Just as she was about to tap him on the arm, he pulled away, just slightly, to make a few strands of sunshine yellow hair fall onto his back.

The extended hand stopped in midair, close enough to feel the heat of him. She automatically felt upset. Not in the terror-inducing weed-killing angry way, though. It was more in the way of feeling your airway constrict and the half-second pinch behind your eyes, of your heart pounding furiously in your chest and heat creeping up your cheeks. She exhaled loudly unintentionally, and even to her it sounded like a frustrated sigh. Howl turned around. Maybe something in her expression had put him off, but most likely it was the tears pooling in her squinted eyes and making her vision blur that gave her away.

"Take it easy there," he said coolly, grabbing her round the waist and pulling her next to him. The wood hit the backs of her knees and she sat down hard, a small grunt escaping her lips. He kept his arm where it was, but turned back to the spell. "Now, what is it?" he asked.

Sophie scratched the side of her face and blinked rapidly in the other direction, feeling rather foolish. "Why won't you talk to me?" she said, trying to sound annoyed. Being straightforward was usually the only way to get a response out of Howl anyway.

"I'm working," he answered shortly. Sophie felt a white-hot anger rise up inside her and she savagely pushed his arm away from her torso and stood up.

"I mean for the past month!" she screeched, the tears still there but less prominent. Howl seemed to find her amusing and grinned, infuriating her further.

"I've been busy." Sophie forced herself to sound calm when she spoke next.

"Did you actually mean it when you got your heart back or was that just you trying not to hurt my feelings?" Sophie asked quietly. She had been speculating on this for quite some time. Had he just said it because he thought it was the right thing to say, because he was just happy that he was still alive? Because she really had thought he meant it.

"Mean what?" he said, still smiling and avoiding looking at her.

"That we should live happily ever after," she said, hating the way her voice sounded, thick and hopeful and trying to be nonchalant but failing grievously.

"Yes."

"'Yes' you meant it or 'yes' you were just trying to be nice?"

"Yes."

Sophie could've smacked him. This was one question he couldn't evade; it was the one question whose answer would decide her future, because if he didn't really love her then she would pack up and leave, then and there. She tried not to entertain the idea, but it seemed to demand her attention, setting up shop in the forefront of her mind and offering visions of life without an insane wizard and magic and love.

"I don't have to stay here," she said, wanting it to hurt him and force a real answer out of him. An hour seemed to pass, weighted and drawn-out as she waited for him to give her any indication that she was wanted there.

Howl sighed dramatically, turning to face her full on as he pivoted on the bench. He rested his elbows on his knees and folded his forearms across each other lazily. "I am fully aware," he said drily.

She harrumphed and her hands turned to fists at her sides. "Howl, do you want me to stay or not?" she shrieked, angry tears in her eyes now, her chest heaving. "I don't care if you hate unpleasantness, just tell me!"

Sophie could pretend to be angry very well when she felt insecure, scared, or sad, but now that she was all three at once, as she took one pointed step forward, she realized that she would have to take the answer from him. So she leaned down, placed her hands on his shoulders, and pressed her lips against his in a marvelous and glaringly obviously inexperienced way. She kept her eyes shut tightly and gripped the fabric of his shirt. Then all at once she was sitting in his lap as he pulled her closer in the circle of his arms and kissed her fervently back. Sophie was the first to pull away, but not for lack of enjoyment. She needed air.

Howl was studying her face carefully as she breathed in slowly, his arms holding her securely against his chest as if she would try to spring up and run for the hills if he let go. She composed herself and glared at him.

"Well why didn't you just say that?" she asked, the corners of her lips twitching, and kissed him again.


End file.
